Not-so-lucky Irish sour on No. 6 pick

Luck of the Irish? Eh, not so much. Just like in 1997, 2007 and now in 2014, the Celtics had dreams of landing a top pick in the draft and ended up with a worst-case scenario.

TIM WEISBERG

Luck of the Irish? Eh, not so much.

Just like in 1997, 2007 and now in 2014, the Boston Celtics had dreams of landing a top pick in the NBA Draft and ended up with a worst-case scenario.

With just over a 30 percent chance of landing a top three pick, that meant there was a 70 percent chance the Celtics would go home from the draft lottery with far less. They ended up with the No. 6 pick, and afterward Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge was forthcoming with his feelings.

"It's a little disappointing," Ainge said. "We were hoping for something better, but the odds said No. 6 was most likely, so we've been prepared for No. 6."

Just as the Celts never got a chance to draft Tim Duncan or Kevin Durant, it appears they'll also miss out on potential stars like Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid.

Any one of those three could have helped turn around the Celtics' fortunes, either as a long-term solution through development and growth in Boston, or as valuable trade bait to bring in a player that can make an impact right away.

Ainge is a master of talking around what he really means, and doing so in a way in which he never really contradicts himself. Yet he came out and very bluntly stated that he didn't think there's a savior to be found at No. 6.

"I don't think you can get a cornerstone.

No. Not in this year's draft," Ainge said. "You can get a player that's capable of starting, of being a starter on a winning team "» There are some real projects, and also some guys that can be developed into good starting NBA players, but I don't know if there are any cornerstones."

That might be a strange thing to say if Ainge is trying to include the sixth pick in any potential trades, but it's also consistent with what he's been saying all along — that many people are overvaluing the talent in this draft.

"There are kids that have a lot of potential, but I don't think anyone is going to come in and change the face of a franchise right out of the gate, but I do think there's some good quality in this draft," Ainge said.

The most surprising development wasn't the Celtics ending up with the sixth pick — it was the Cleveland Cavaliers earning the No. 1 overall selection for the second straight season, and the third time in four years. The Cavs entered the draft lottery with the ninth-best shot at the top pick, just a 1.7 percent chance, but somehow pulled off the near-impossible and get yet another chance at either erasing the memory of LeBron James, or further enticing him to return.

The No. 6 pick has been pretty good to the Celtics over the years, bringing in one of the greatest players of all time in Larry Bird (1978, but a big risk at the time since he was returning for his senior season at Indiana State) and, rightly or wrongly, a franchise cornerstone in Antoine Walker (1996). It also brought them the first-ever sixth man Frank Ramsey (1953), and the lost potential of Ron Mercer (1997).

The Celtics also own the No. 17 pick as a result of the trade with the Brooklyn Nets last summer, which could be packaged with the No. 6 pick to allow Ainge to get creative before the June 26 draft. The hot rumor is putting together a package to pry All-Star big man Kevin Love out of Minnesota, and plenty of other names will pop up over the next month. The Celtics also have the possibility of as many as eight more first-round picks over the next four years, so they could combine some of those in order to move up and get one of the better players in this year's draft.

"I do think that's a possibility, moving up. Moving down is also a possibility, moving out of using those picks are all options. We'll explore all things," Ainge said. "It's an exciting time for our franchise. We could do anything from taking the two draft picks, continuing to add young talent, or we could make some bigger deals that speed up our process and everywhere in between. Everything is possible."